Or Mirrors, Water Ilies, and the Righteous
by Hidden Wishes
Summary: Well, the title can say a lot, and because I suck at summaries, I will let it speak for itself. Pairings include at least for now RenxGaara, MichixNeji, KyokoxSasuke. Rated M for later chapters.
1. Blood and Water Lilies

**Okay, this is my first Fan fiction Story. It is about my OC three-girl squad. Yes, all girls! Not much else can be said besides don't flame me.**

**And that I don't own Naruto or any of the characters in this fan fiction besides Ren, her dad, her mom, and her squad mates (their families too).**

About the time that people were running away from little Gaara in fear and people were ignoring a child named Naruto, Ren wished she could just disappear. Onara Ren (Ren meaning water lily) was from Amegakure or Rain Village. The girl had very short brown hair that was always messy. She wore a beige short-sleeved shirt and black capris. Ren was a loner from birth, because she harbored a secret from her parents, and everyone else around her.

A demon. The demon, she knew was called Kano (Kano is the name of a water demon). He did not affect her daily life and no one was aware when Keno took hold of Ren's body. But there was still one thing that she had to hide, her ears.

When a person is a vessel to a demon, there is always a physical sign of the demonic presence. Naruto's "whiskers" and Gaara's eye circles were examples of the fact. Ren's sign that she was infested with a demon was her fin-like ears!

The only person who knew about her being the vessel of a demon was her mother. If her father knew, she didn't know what to expect.

One evening, her father came home, drunk. He smiled with a glazed look cast over his aged face. Ren was sitting on the couch in the front room. The man rustled the girl's hair.

"Ah my favorite of these children," he said, although it was very difficult for one to make out words, being his level of intoxication.

"Father, I am your only child," she whispered, but she knew that he wouldn't care much.

"Ha ha ha ha!" he laughed deeply, at nothing in particular, but he laughed anyway. Ren shook her head at her father.

He continued to ruffle her hair, and laugh like the drunkard he was. Then suddenly, he stopped. Ren looked to her father, who's face became white as chalk.

Then she realized why he stopped ruffling her hair, he found her left ear. Her eyes became wide as he started to scream. Her mother rushed into the living room.

"What is going on in here?" she screamed. Now Ren's father was yanking, painfully at her left ear.

"She is a monster! What has she done?" he screeched. Ren cried. She wasn't a monster, and it wasn't her fault.

"Get away from her!" Ren's mother commanded. But he only pushed the woman away, knocking her into the wall. The older ninja pulled a kunai from his pocket.

Ren started to scream. "Don't! Don't!" But her father paid no heed to her pleas, and with the kunai, cut the tip from her fin ear. Ren screamed louder then ever.

Suddenly, water began swirling around the apartment. Her ears grew longer and longer, she slowly transforming, into her true form. The water formed into spikes as she, her father, and her mother who was just stirring, continued to scream.

The spikes flew about the apartment. The girl shut her eyes. Suddenly, Ren was the only one screaming. The ice spikes fell back into puddles on the floor and her ears sunk back behind her hair.

She opened her eyes, and fainted.


	2. Racoons and Water Lilies

**Woo! Chappie 2! I am doing so well! This is my friend's entire fault that I keep up with it.**

**I don't own Naruto and all the characters besides my three-girl squad and their families.** **Now, I told all my friends that I would do the pasts of all the girls, but, sadly decided against it, sorry…**

Gaara's forehead hurt.

In fact, all of his body hurt. His chest hurt, his arms hurt, and his legs hurt. Well, his limbs weren't really hurting, but weak. Like jelly. The demonic voice in his head was screaming for blood, and his own soul pleaded for the look, and feel of warm, fresh blood, to drip from an open wound, to watch someone die.

This demon, Shukaku, was the only one who acknowledged his existence, the only one who did not wish for his death. His only acquaintance, his only friend. Why should he not try and please this being that actually noticed his life, without threatening his?

Now, his friend wanted blood, and deep inside the young Gaara, he wanted blood too. But all the people were doing the wisest thing, hiding in their homes.

So the streets were empty, besides him. Gaara turned sharply, only to find his sand protecting him from something.

_Another attack on my life, eh?_ The sand moved away so Gaara could see his attacker to see a small girl. She had thick chestnut colored hair to her shoulders, her face covered in either dirt, or dried blood. She was breathing heavily, like she had run for several days(**author's note: she did! Ren had run all the way from her country to the land of wind, which is really only like 24 hours**).

"Hn," he grunted. "A child sent to kill me?" the little girl's eyes widened.

"No!" she cried, her voice hoarse. "I am not here to hurt you!"

"Liar," he screamed. Shukaku screamed in his head, to kill the girl, watch her blood fall from her delicate, white skin. He was soon filled with desire, to see blood decorate the pavement, her lies to stop.

Sand began to swirl about the little girl before him. Tears fell down her face, creating lines through the smudges on her face. Her purple eyes became watery. A malevolent grin took control over Gaara's face, the child face he had, now resembled an ugly demon that took a child's body.

"Stop it!" she screamed. Sand crept up from her ankle, to her thigh, slowly engulfing her small body. Suddenly, fin-like ears emerged from beneath her thick hair, growing out like straight horns. Her eyes became larger, and the purple turned to a dark blue.

Gaara watched with intrigue. _She too holds an inner demon? Who is this girl?_

"I…" she whispered, tears continuing to fall. "I don't want to hurt anyone…I don't…"

Gaara's eyes then drifted from her crying face, to her left ear, where the tip was missing. It was bleeding. The boy raised his hands and brought the girl close enough, for him to examine the damaged appendage.

Soon, she was close, so close he could feel her jagged breath. A hand shot up to the left, fin-like ear. "This cannot be an abnormality. Could it?" he asked her. "Could you have been born like this?" the girl did not meet his eyes. Instead, her face was downcast.

"So, you were _not_ born like this," he whispered, the desire to see her blood dying. "_Who_ did this?"

She looked away again. She attempted to steal a glance at her captor, who now held her life in his hands, but was caught in his green eyes. "My…father," she whispered, half wishing he couldn't hear her, half wishing he did. He did.

_Her father did this? Her father could be so heartless as to inflict harm on her? Could it have to do with these ears? A demon?_ A pang in Gaara's heart, made the sand let go of the girl.

Something inside him compelled him, to pull the dirty, scruffy girl, into an embrace.

**Ooh! A cliffhanger! Chapter 2, is leaving the building! And thank-you, for the reviews!**


	3. What I Can Remember

**Wow, I am updating quickly! I am so proud of myself! Thank-you for the reviews, and to my friend Torri, stop making my life hell! I am updating as fast as I can!**

**Gaara and all other Naruto characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto, not me **

Ren, age seven, thought back to the day she met that boy, Gaara. He had almost killed her, then he embraced her, he hugged her. The young girl slowly walked down the streets of Konohagakure.

After Gaara had pulled her into an embrace, he whispered in her ear, telling of his past.

Ren tried to keep her thoughts away from him. When he finished his sad tale, he had bandaged her ear, and asked her to stay in Suna with him. Ren had still been afraid that he would kill her, so she agreed, fearing making him mad.

Ren almost laughed, now, at how short her stay was. The very next day, three children from Suna warned her that he would kill her, as soon as he gets just a speck angry. Then a Sand shinobi attempted to kill her. But Gaara killed him before the assassin could hurt her.

She then, had to leave.

**Hah! It has been updated!**


	4. The Smell of Death

**Here my friends, to make up for the extremely short Chapter 3, here is a long chapter! Oh and another little notice, my three-girl squad are all one year younger then the rookie nine, and all those who were twelve before the time skip. Oh, and I just wanted to say, "Ha!" to my friend Torri! You can't send me inappropriate male-on-male content now! Because of our agreement I was within the time that you set! So ha!**

**Naruto characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto, not me :( Because personally, I believe I could do a little more with them!**

With her thoughts finally drifting away from her demonic friend, she thought of the Ninja Academy. She was starting there in the morning.

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"Hello class," the instructing Chuunin replied happily. "My name is Ihua. I will be your instructor…" Ren already liked the Ninja Academy.

She sat in the back, but because the room was coliseum style, even those in the rear of the class had a wonderful view of what was happening in the front. Ihua-sensei was great too. His voice was very pleasing, deep and sing-songy. Ren heard lots of his voice in class, because that shinobi could talk!

Of course, being the instructor, he had to speak. He started today's lesson with chakra, because he felt it was very important to start with what was most important.

Another thing that Ren liked about the academy, was that because many children's parents were killed or they had been sacrificed, the children had an upstairs apartment-like dorm room for them to stay in. It wasn't very crowded, so Ren had the entire dorm almost to herself.

But the best part was that there were lots of new children for her to meet and be friends with.

"Hi!" a voice exclaimed from her left. Ren looked to see a girl with white-blonde hair and large brown eyes. There was a small flower clip in her hair, and on her light pink tee shirt, the name, Wasabi, was printed in very fancy kanji.

"I'm Michi, Wasabi Michi," the girl whispered. "What's yours?"

"Ren," she whispered in response. And then because Michi had said her family name, she said, "Sedou, Ren."

"Hello, Ren! Wanna hang out at recess?" Michi asked excitedly.

"Sure!" Ren replied. Oh yes, she liked the Ninja Academy very much.

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When it came around for recess time, Michi turned to Ren and asked, "So, where do you live?"

"Oh," Ren said, "I live in the apartments above the school."

"Cool, so…what happened to your parents?" Michi asked quietly, once they had retreated to a small corner of the courtyard.

Ren decided that since Michi was her friend, she told her, exactly what happened.

After Ren had finished her sad tale, even including about Gaara, she felt much better.

"Oh, wow!" Michi whispered. "It's so romantic!" Michi frightened Ren, with her sudden shouting.

"What are you talking about?" Ren asked, rubbing her aching ears, that she had shown to Michi only to receive a ton of "oohs" and "aws" from her.

"You and Gaara! Duh!" she exclaimed. "It's like Romeo and Juliet or something like that! 'Oh! Ren, my love we can't see one another ever again!'" Michi cried, deepening her voice to sound like an older guy.

"That's not even how he sounds like!" Ren exclaimed blushing some. Of course, the situation wasn't like Romeo and Juliet. At all. "Besides, he never even said that. He just said 'Maybe, we could see one another, but I don't think you'll like how I jog your memory of me'."

"Okay children," Ihua exclaimed. "Time to go home." A large round of joyful cries rang out. He slowly walked to the sliding door, and slid it open. The entire class rushed out, with Ren and Michi in the mix.

The class was let out into the front courtyard.

"Wow," Ren exclaimed. "Who knew the Academy classes could be so dull!"

"Yeah!" Michi agreed. "So, wanna come to my house?"

"Okay! That sounds fun!" so Michi ran off, and Ren followed behind her.

"But first," Michi said, turning around quickly and coming to a complete stop. Raising one finger she finished the statement. "You have to see the Mitaraki playground!" Michi turned once more and resumed her running, with Ren on her heels. "It has the biggest slide and tallest swings you've ever seen! And because the Mitaraki hate you on their land, we can practice sneaking into enemy territory!"

"But won't we get in trouble?" Ren asked, trying to keep up with the extremely energetic Wasabi girl.

"If we get caught," Michi replied playfully with her tongue sticking out.

The two girls raced past a number of villagers, but when they ran past one pair of shinobi, Michi stopped and forced Ren to stop as well.

"What?" Ren asked. "We there yet?"

Michi pulled Ren behind a tree, and peeked around to smile and blush at the pair she saw.

"Look," she whispered, pointing at the pair. Ren looked out. All she saw were two older shinobi. One was a girl whose hair was pulled up into two small buns. The other was a boy with long dark brown hair, in a very loose ponytail in the back and bandages around his forehead.

"Who are they?" Ren whispered in response.

"The boy is Hyuuga Neji, my future husband, my love," she whispered back.

"He looks older," Ren replied.

"Of course he does, that's because he _is_ older, by two years," Michi explained.

"If he is your love, why are you hiding?" Ren wondered.

"Because…he doesn't realize we are meant to be together yet," Michi explained, trying to act calm even though Ren probably thought she was a freaky stalker now.

"Freaky stalker," Ren whispered.

"Hey! I was thinking that!" Michi exclaimed, angrily. "Oh, just come on!" So Michi continued to run and Ren followed suit quickly.

They continued down the roads of Konoha, Ren never truly realized how large the village was. Finally, Michi held her arm out and abruptly stopped, making Ren nearly impale herself on the outstretched arm.

"Ugh, can't you give me more warning next time?"

"Shh! We are here!" Ren looked up. She now stood before the biggest house she had ever seen! It was at least five stories high and took up most of the street!

"Come on! The playground is arou-" Michi stopped. Her face became very pale.

"What's wrong, Michi?" Ren asked, than looked down. Trailing up from the sliding door of the Mitaraki clan house was a small path of blood. Michi clamped a hand over her mouth, looking like she was going to puke.

"Where do you think it's coming from?" Ren asked, Michi slowly regaining the color in her face.

"Dunno," Michi replied quietly. She was trembling. "I heard that they were known for extensive training, but to have blood pour out in the street from your house, that's sick."

Ren, filled with curiosity, reached for the door. Michi wasn't fast enough to stop her. "Oh my-" Ren couldn't even finish the statement. Michi vomited.

Inside the Mitaraki house, lay hundreds of dead bodies. All of their eyes wide open, in shock.

The house looked terribly bleak, like Death itself lived in the house. The bodies emanating foul stenches that made Ren's eyes water.

But in the very center of the front room, was a small girl, who looked about Ren and Michi's age. Two longer pieces of hair fell across her face that was stained with tears. The back of her hair was spiky, but hung down, almost touching the floor, heavy from sweat. Her wrists bloody, a senbon needle resting in one hand, covered in blood.

Michi started to sob uncontrollably. The girl opened her eyes to the noise. Ren's eyes widened in shock. The girl tried to sit up, using her wobbly arms to support her. It failed, and she fell back on the hard ground, either faint, or dead.


	5. MindReaders, and Long Sentences

**Ah, Chappie Five leaves its mark! This is stationed when the girls are assigned their squads. **

**Naruto characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto, not me, tear, tear…**

"Good morning, class," Ihua, exclaimed one, very special day. "As you know, just yesterday, you took the test to become shinobi, and I am happy to say, that every single one of you have passed!"

Kyoko grunted. Ren looked over to her. Ever since she and Michi had discovered Kyoko, after she had attempted suicide, the Mitaraki survivor had been like a shell, unreachable.

"Now, as customary, every team as two boys and one girl, but this year we have a larger number of girls then normal, so we will have our first ever three-girl squad!" Ihua exclaimed, happily. Ren, Michi, and every other girl in the class looked up in surprise. _A three-girl squad? I never heard of one,_ Ren thought. Michi thought it was cool. Kyoko didn't care.

Ihua got on with the team assignments. Until he got around to number 11, the three didn't act very excited. "Okay class," he said, as if he was unveiling a great surprise. "The girls in the three-girl squad, squad 11, are…" Ren looked up excitedly, as did Michi. "Sedou Ren, Wasabi Michi, and…" Kyoko actually looked up now. _What sucker is stuck with those losers?_ She asked herself. "Mitaraki Kyoko."

Kyoko almost fell out of her seat. Ren and Michi were happy when they found they were in a team together, but their excitement was killed when their third teammate was revealed.

After class that day, everyone received their headbands. Kyoko wore hers around her forehead. Ren wore her headband around her neck. Michi wasn't sure where to put hers.

"Choose something," Kyoko commanded. "You can't be a real shinobi without the headband." Ren wanted to disagree. The headband didn't make the ninja; their determination and strength did, but decided not to have Kyoko dislike her anymore than she already did.

"I'm sorry, its just, I don't know what I want!" Michi exclaimed, trying to explain herself.

Kyoko stole the headband from the silly Wasabi, and tied it around her waist. "There!" she cried. "It's decided!"

Early the next morning, the new squad 11 gathered outside the school, waiting for their sensei. Luckily, the wait wasn't long, in fact, their sensei arrived fifteen minutes earlier than she was scheduled.

"Squad 11, here is your sensei, Yami," Ihua explained.

"Hi!" Yami exclaimed happily. "Come, squad, we have so much to do!" and the sensei trounced off happily.

"Great, we get the spunky one," Kyoko complained, bounding off after the energetic Jounin. Ren and Michi shrugged and followed as well.

The squad was led to a training area that was presently empty.

"Perfect!" she sensei exclaimed. "No one around to bug us! So, I say we start with introducing ourselves, I'll go first…

"Um, I like ninja stuff and dislike non ninja stuff. And…that's about all there is about me!" Kyoko rolled her eyes; Ren thought her new teacher was a nut job. "Hey! Ren, I heard that! Oh, I also have a mind reading justsu that I always have in place, so don't try and hide stuff from me, cause it won't work. So, now that I have gone, you, with the really long hair, named Ren, go!" Ren ran her hand quickly through her thick, dark mahogany-like hair, and sighed.

"Um," Ren thought of what to say. "Okay, my name is Sedou Ren, my hair really isn't _that_ long, its just mid-back, and I want it longer anyways. I specialize in my summoning jutsu, Ittayo, and my special water-style jutsus. My parents are both dead, I have no siblings, I used to live in Amegakure, and now I live in the apartments above the school!" Ren rested her hands on her hips and nodded her head. She was done.

"Ehh! Wrong, you left a lotta stuff out, so I'm gonna fill it in for you (cause I am such a nice sensei like that)!" Yami exclaimed. Then she turned to Kyoko because she knew Michi already knew the story. "Okay, well, Ren, at age six, killed her parents, than ran away, from Amegakure, and met Gaara a sand demon, who Michi thinks is crushing on her, and she wanted to live with him but the next day someone came and tried to assassinate her, so he made her leave, then she came to Konoha and attended the school here, met Michi, then found your emo-ass as you were trying to kill yourself, and then here she is now!" Michi's mouth hung open, Kyoko was staring like Yami had six heads, and Ren was twitching.

"And you fit it all in one sentence, too," Ren muttered to herself.

"Okay! Now that we know all about Ren, lets find out about you Kyoko!"

After a mind numbing, "getting-to-know-your-fellow-shinobi-session", Kyoko already hated her sensei, and her two teammates. They all knew her past now, they knew why she was the way she was. She didn't have secret, and sad past anymore, she had no privacy, and now she realized how much of a freak that Ren girl was.

Sure, her chakra control before had been amazing in the Academy classes. But Kyoko could never have guessed it was because of a demon, never in a million years. And Michi, her clan problems, all the hate she endured, no one could have guessed it, she acted so happy, was that her way of covering up the pain she endured? Like how Kyoko was a shell, to protect her from the hurt she would feel, from that terrible day, when she was seven.

Those two, at first glance, seemed so normal, like any shinobi, any random shinobi. But they weren't, none of them were.

"Okay everyone!" Yami exclaimed once more, after everyone had fully apprehended what had happened. "So how about a quick test to make sure you deserve being shinobi?"

"We have to take _another_ test?" Kyoko asked, suddenly a shell once more. Yami nodded happily.

"It'll involve my great genjutsu! And I'll use what I learned from your pasts to really torture you with!" Yami exclaimed, as if she was telling the happy ending to a story. "So prepare yourself, because you will relive your pasts, and experience your fears, and you must help one another get out."

The older Jounin made a hand-sign, and closed her eyes, and when she opened them, they seemed different. Her eyes, that were one moment ago happy, joyful, now had a dangerous look in them, and Michi, Ren, and Kyoko, all soon fell into her genjutsu.

Michi was suddenly standing in the ruins of what looked like what was once a house. It resembled the Wasabi house, and Michi's eyes widened, it was. Her mother and father looked up at her, for they had kneeling on the ground, cradling a dead body, her sister's.

"She could have done something, but you were heiress," they whispered, her mother weeping over the body. "You failed us, Michi! Now the one who deserved your power is dead! And the village is too! You weak, coward! You failed us, you failed Yuki! She is dead, see?" Michi was trembling, now.

"D-dead?" she whispered. "Yes you stupid girl!" her mother screamed, through her tears. "You had no power, even when you mastered the plant style, you were a failure!"

Michi shook violently now, she looked around, now she that it wasn't only her home that was ruins, but the entire village. Yami, Ren, and even Kyoko lay dead in the streets, as well as her crush, Neji, and everyone else that she knew, all gone.

"I didn't mean to…" she whispered, then looked back at her mother with determination. "No, Mother, Yuki's death, was not my fault! For she isn't dead!" with a quick hand-sign, Michi was in her plant-style. A malicious grin and everything was clearing away. "Posers, you are not dead!" And the genjutsu was over.

Ren found herself, in the center of the village. But she was in her true form. Her fin-like ears stuff far out from beneath her thick, now touching the floor, hair, that was a deep blue. Her eyes had no pupils and they were very large. She lifted her arms, and water flew about, forming spikes. Her already large eyes got wider, but she couldn't control her water abilities, its like they had a mind of their own.

The spikes started impaling people, people she knew, and others that she didn't. The people had their eyes still open, when they fell to the ground. "Stop!" Ren turned, to a voice, the bodies continued falling to the ground, in every direction. Ren turned about to find the voice, and soon found a familiar face, Gaara's face. "Stop doing this," he exclaimed. Michi appeared beside him.

"Ren, just stop," she replied. And the genjutsu faded.

Kyoko awoke in a dark room. It smelled musty, of death, and blood. She looked about it, it was so familiar, and then she realized, that she had been here before, when she was seven. Bodies littered her floor, and she was crying. Kyoko puked. "Why?" she wept. And suddenly, an object appeared in her hand, a senbon needle. She took it, and pressed it to her wrist, like she had when she was seven.

But this time, another hand grabbed her arm, stopping her, Kyoko looked up, it was Michi, with Ren standing beside her. The genjutsu faded, and Kyoko realized, that these shinobi, these freaks, these girls, knew her better then anyone else, they were her friends.


	6. Years Later

**Okay, so I realize that I have skipped around a lot in the story, like every chapter is another couple of years from the last, but this is the last time in the story that I will do that. Here, in this chapter, the rookie nine, and Gaara, are 16, Rock Lee's team is 17, and Ren's team is 15.**

**Now, as you will see, there isn't much dialogue, but I still think its good.**

**Naruto characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto, not me, tear, tear…Oh, I didn't create Polaroid cameras either, actually, I don't know who does…**

Ren slowly brushed her hair, quietly, but full of excitement. It was the day of the Spring Festival, and she had bought a beautiful kimono for the occasion, as well as Michi, and Kyoko was actually going to wear a nice kimono, with flowers on it!

Ren's kimono was gorgeous, its background was a pastel pink, and it was decorated with tons of lovely flowers, of all kinds and shades. The fifteen-year-old marveled at her very long hair. It was almost to her waist, only an inch above it, the exact length she wanted it to be, and in just in time too! She thought back to the days, when she had shorter hair, when she was twelve.

Thinking to when she was twelve reminded her of her sensei, Yami, who was coming back from a mission with her old team. The sensei had made sure to return for the Festival, because Michi had practically begged her to.

Michi had also grown up in the three years since they became a team. Her hair, which had been at her shoulders then, was slightly shorter, and darker, to almost a dirty-blonde color. She had also started going out with Neji when she was thirteen. But she was still the shortest of the group.

Kyoko had changed very much. She was less of a shell (although still very anti-social) and spoke more. She had also developed the idea of a hit list at age fourteen, which was a list-often containing the entire village population-of people that she would kill if she felt like it. Number 1 being the mostly likely to be killed, and the last one, the least likely. Every month, or week depending on her mood, a new list would appear, and every time, Ren and Michi's name would somehow appear in the top ten, normally under Naruto, and sometimes beneath Lee if he is extra obnoxious that period of time. Yami normally made it in Number 1, every time, and bore the title of "Number 1 on Kyoko's Hit List" proudly.

Yami hadn't grown in height, or in smarts, and definitely not maturity! But she did have some changes. There was a rumor that she was going out with Kakashi (what the appeal is, no one would ever know), and that she was steadily growing in power, and her Mind-Reading Jutsu was gaining strength. But Ren doubted it, because Yami never boasted it, and if she growing stronger, knowing Yami, she would definitely spread the news around, herself.

Coming back to the bathroom in front of the mirror, Ren also thought of times before coming into Konoha. Even though she was six at the time, she still remembered everything very well. Especially, she remembered, Gaara, that boy, who also had an inner-demon. She hadn't seen him since she left Suna. That was nine years ago. She had heard that he had been in Konoha for the Chuunin exams back when she was eleven, but instead of being able to see him, she was stuck being hidden behind the faces, carved into the mountain, of the Hokages, because the teachers thought they couldn't fight, at all! For a while, she was very angry with Gaara, because she had quickly learned that the Sand and Sound had joined together to destroy the Leaf village.

But when she older-by then she was a Chuunin, looking to being a Jounin-she heard the stories of how he had helped the village, how he had changed. Now, Ren missed him. But he had told her, that they might never see one another again. So Ren thought of merely moving on, with dating and such, but it never worked, none of the guys in the village were very good for her.

"Whoa!" Ren exclaimed at herself. "I can't be all mopey now! I am excited about the Festival!" and she felt better, quickly. Ren finished brushing her hair and went into her room, to put on her lovely kimono.

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It was later now. Ren went down the Konoha streets quickly, she was late, and Michi and Kyoko were waiting. As soon as Michi was in view, Ren could see her waving, like crazy.

"Come on, Ren! You're late!" she screamed. Ren rushed up and quickly joined her friends. "You are VERY late!" Ren looked at her friend.

"When I left the house, it was 7:12, and it couldn't have taken more than five minutes to get here, and I was supposed to meet you at 7. I am 17 MINUTES LATE! I am not _that_ late!" Michi stuck her tongue out at Ren and Kyoko rolled her eyes.

"Could we just go to the festival?" Kyoko asked, getting impatient. Michi smiled and nodded, before darting off to wear the Festival was taking place. "How _can_ she run so fast in that kimono?" Ren shrugged and followed, with Kyoko on her heels.

Running as fast as they were, the three arrived at the Festival quickly. There, it was very bright and happy.

Every shinobi they knew, and everyone they didn't (as well as non-ninjas) was in attendance.

"How beautiful!" Michi exclaimed, and pulled from the bell sleeves of her kimono, a small Polaroid camera. With the small string that was attached to it, she hung it around her neck.

"What's that for?" Kyoko asked, not even looking at Michi, too distracted by the scene of Neji losing terribly at a small festival game.

"Hey!" Michi exclaimed, angry that Kyoko wasn't paying attention. "What are you looking at?!" Kyoko pointed to where Neji was as he was really starting to steam. "Uh-oh," and she bounded off to help calm him down.

Now it was Ren's turn to roll her eyes, but she went off to join Sakura in another game, and Kyoko went and leaned against a wall somewhere- probably dirtying up the back of her kimono- because Festivals weren't exactly her thing.

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Around nine, Kyoko left the wall to sit down on a bench. If she ruined the back of her kimono, which was a loan from Michi, she would never hear the end of it. She looked up. Everyone was crowded around a fishing game.

Ren was winning, because she had caught about four, mostly because she could subtly control the water around the fish to catch them. Neji caught one, and gave it to Michi. Rock Lee caught one and gave it to Sakura. Naruto caught two, and gave them to Yuki, who simply blushed and kissed him on the cheek. Kiba caught two as well, having a contest with Naruto, and gave one to Hinata. He then turned to Ren and said that because no one gave her one, he gave her the other fish.

Ren blushed at that, but Kyoko snorted. She knew Kiba had a crush on Ren, but the girl had no idea. But suddenly, a pang of loneliness struck Kyoko. No one even noticed that she didn't join them.

She looked down at her feet for a moment, sinking lower in her seat, when she heard a rustling next to her, she looked, and found, that, next to her on the bench, was a small fish, in a little bag. Kyoko looked at it curiously.

"Someone must have forgotten it," she whispered, Kyoko looked around, finding no one, she set the bag in her lap.

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At about midnight, the Festival really died down. There was trash everywhere; so much that someone might mistake the Cherry Blossom Festival as a Trash Festival. Ren and her team where now sitting in a small, but hidden, alley-way, with Naruto, Sakura, Rock Lee, Sai, Kankuro, Tenten, Neji, Yuki (Michi's younger sister, remember, from the genjutsu? She wasn't really dead), Temari, Shikamaru, and, hidden in the corner, Gaara.

They were having a drinking contest. Most of them, no scratch that, practically ALL of them, were very drunk. Rock Lee, Naruto, Gaara, and Ren had downed the most, however. Rock Lee and Sakura were in the middle, having a make-out session. Kankuro was watching this, and getting a massive nosebleed, while Tenten was getting bitchy. Neji was almost passed out, leaning against the wall for support. Yuki, who was only 14, had crashed from a sugar rush, and was resting on the subconscious Naruto's chest. Michi, who was also quiet drunk, was snapping a ton of pictures, mostly of Yuki resting on Naruto. "They are just so cute together!" Michi cooed. Kyoko glanced at them. She was the only one that hadn't drunk anything besides Yuki, and Kyoko was straightedge sober right now. But she did have to admit, Yuki and Naruto looked adorable together, although Naruto was drooling on Yuki's head.

She stole a glance at Ren, who had consumed enough alcohol to kill a person with, but seemed like she had only had one drink. She actually passed off as sober! Even Gaara, with Shukaku being able to drink tons of sake, was swaying slightly, his eyes having a glazed look in them.

Gaara, from the corner, looked at his sister Temari, who was sitting in a complaining Shikamaru's lap.

"Get off me, woman!" he said, trying to push her off. But Temari held fast. "You're too heavy!" Sakura and Rock Lee, mid-make-out session, both passed out.

"Aw, man!" Kankuro complained. "It was finally getting good!" Tenten rolled her eyes.

"Come on, Kankuro, lets go home!" she whined. "I'm tired!"

"Fine!" he exclaimed, and they got up and left, with a smiling Tenten, and a frustrated Kankuro. Gaara rolled his eyes, too. Tenten could easily control Kankuro, and it was almost sad. Then he saw Sai, who was looking longingly at Kyoko.

"Can I help you?" she asked, noticing him staring at her chest. Sai looked up.

"Wanna go home with me?" he asked, hopefully.

Kyoko stole a quick glance at him, and then looked away. "Fine," she said, but not moving to get up from her seat. Sai smiled then passed out.

Then he looked in the opposite direction from them, to see a familiar face. It was Ren. His eyes got wide for a second, before quickly returning to normal. His eyes then scanned over her. In the nine years since he saw her, she had definitely grown. And not just in height. He made a small hand sign, and sand swirled around him, and transported him next to her.

Ren turned away from the group for a moment to be startled, seeing Gaara's face so close. She hadn't even known he was here. Inside she was so happy to see him again, and she wanted to throw her arms around him. But she was caught up in his eyes. They had a hungry look in them, but not for food. His face got closer; he closed his eyes, and kissed her, gently. Her eyes were wide for a moment; she had no idea how to react. It was her first kiss, so she didn't know what to do. But soon, she relaxed and closed her eyes as well, and her hands came to his nape.

Michi took a moment from her snapping pictures at the others, to take a quick photo of Ren and Gaara, the photos spilling out of the camera, constantly.

Gaara gently nibbled her lower lip, asking for entrance. Ren gasped, and his tongue darted in, exploring every part of her mouth.

When they broke for air, she looked at him, confused. She blushed, as he took her mouth once more. This time she now had a better idea of what she was supposed to do, and now she ran her hands through his hair. He leaned against the wall, with one arm resting on it, and the other wrapped around her waist. She felt him smile against her lips, as sand swirled around them, transporting the two to Ren's apartment.

Soon, Ren didn't feel the cold, wet of the alley wall, but the warmth and soft of her bed, and Gaara was above her now, propped up on his hands, looking down at her.

Now Ren was afraid, of what was going to happen. She was afraid of Gaara now. Trembling slightly.

Gaara smiled, a warm smile, and leaned back on his haunches, off his hands, and laughed.

"Now we have a reason to see one another again," he explained.


	7. Oh What the Future Has in Store

**Gaara; Okay, well, Alex (hidden wishes) isn't feeling well, so she called me**

**Neji; and me!**

**Gaara; … Shut up. Well, Alex is sick so she called me and asked me if I could introduce the story for her.**

**Neji; don't forget me! I'm important too!**

**Gaara; … No your not. Oh, and here is the disclaimer you need to read.**

**Naruto characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto, not me, tear, tear…**

**Gaara; Yep, so really, there isn't much else to say…**

_**Shukaku Talking**_

_**Gaara Thinking**_

Ren sat up in the bed, with Gaara just finishing up his laugh. She was very confused, to say the least. "What the hell?" she thought.

"Oh, I forgot to explain," Gaara said, after his small laugh was over. "You see, Ren, before, when we were younger, we couldn't see one another, because it was too dangerous for you.

"But now that you are stronger, and older, it is safe. Besides, before, when I was younger, I was a danger too," he said.

"But why like this?" she asked, gesturing to the fact that he had transported her to her own apartment. "People are going to think things happened."

_**Let these "things" happen Gaara!**_

_**Would you shut up?!?**_

_**Look at her, Gaara. She is considerably smaller, and weaker, than you. You could easily overpower her. **_

Gaara did his best to ignore the perverted spirit that lived within him.

"That's the point," he replied. "Now, others will believe that we just met and are going out. And, plenty of others won't remember it anyway. Not with the amount of sake that they consumed anyway." Gaara looked at Ren once more. "You have grown." She blushed and looked away.

And that was her reunion, with Gaara.

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The next morning, Ren woke up early. And somehow, she was still in her special kimono from the night before, and Gaara was gone. She thought back, did she really see him again? Or did she imagine it? Ren couldn't tell at this point. But she decided that she wanted to train right now.

After a quick shower and breakfast, she put on some training clothes and went off to the main training center of Konoha.

There, whom did she meet? "Hey, Ren!" Michi cried. Yep, Michi and Kyoko. "Soooo!?"

"So what?" Ren asked, confused. Kyoko rolled her eyes and Michi continued with her "Soooo!?"-ing.

"Ugh, was Gaara really _so_ bad that you forgot what happened _last night_??" Kyoko asked, flat out. Ren blushed.

"What are you talking about?" she asked, looking around to see if anyone was listening in on their conversation.

"Uh, duh," Kyoko replied, as if it was obvious. "You and Gaara, fucking, geez, it happened just last night…"

Ren was really blushing now. "That didn't happen!" she exclaimed, waving her hands in front of her face as if to defend herself. "It didn't!"

"But, you, like, went someplace with him, and you were kissing!" Michi insisted. "And besides! Gaara is the Kazekage! He can have whatever he wants, and your saying _nothing _happened?!?"

Kyoko looked at Ren closely for five minutes and than sighed. "Nope, nothing happened between her and Gaara last night. It can tell."

"How?" Michi inquired.

"She isn't bursting with disturbing details and dimensions like you were when you and Neji fucked for the first time, duh."

"Oh, so then I won the bet!" Michi exclaimed happily.

"Oh, fuck, I _did_ bet you fifty bucks they did it, shit!" Kyoko cried, handing over the appropriate amount of money to Michi.

"You guys, _bet_, on me?!?" Ren exclaimed.

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Meanwhile, whilst Ren, Kyoko, and Michi trained, Sasuke had his own, personal mission to do. He had to, _ask Naruto for advice_!!! Now, normally, the great Uchiha Sasuke didn't need a nincompoop's help, especially Naruto's. But he needed help, and Naruto seemed to know what he was doing in this scenario.

The great Uchiha quietly crept towards Ichiruka's where Naruto and his new girlfriend, Yuki, were eating ramen. "Naruto, psst!" he whispered from the entrance, trying not to alert Yuki and the whole restaurant, too.

"Oi!" Naruto called. "Yuki! It's Sasuke!" Yuki looked up, smiled, waved, and returned to eating her ramen. Sasuke sighed. So much for not alerting anyone besides Naruto. "Come on, Sasuke! Come sit with us!" so reluctantly, Sasuke joined the two at the small bar in the center of the restaurant.

"Naruto, I need your…advice, on something," Sasuke whispered, still trying to keep Yuki out of the conversation. But that didn't work, because this girl had exceptional hearing.

"Whaddaya need help with, Sasuke?" Yuki asked. Sasuke growled under his breath. He needed Naruto's advice, and soon, but if he asked him here, everyone in Konoha would know by the end of the day with Yuki listening in. But the Wasabi girl smiled and winked at him. "Don't worry, Sasuke, we won't tell anyone!"

Sasuke sighed and decided it was now or never. "Naruto, how did you get Yuki to like you?" he asked, flat out, a little too quickly, but it came out. Naruto looked up.

"Huh, what did you say?" Naruto asked, Yuki now sitting up, listening intently.

"He asked you how you got me to like you," Yuki explained to Naruto. The blonde nodded, then consuming another bundle of noodles.

"Who says she even likes me?" Naruto asked, completely serious. At this point, Yuki was leaning on his arm, holding the one hand he wasn't using to eat, which was good because Naruto was right-handed, and she was on his left, and she was left-handed, so her right hand and his left hand would not interfere with their meal.

"Yeah, Sasuke!" Yuki exclaimed. "I don't like Naruto one bit!" Naruto nodded. "I love him!" a vein popped in Sasuke's forehead.

"Yeah, but how did he get you to like him?" he asked once more. Yuki shook her head.

"I told you, Sasuke," she replied. "I don't like Naruto, I love him."

"THEN HOW DID HE GET YOU TO LOVE HIM?!?" he shouted, Sasuke didn't want all this messing around, and he just wanted an answer.

"He didn't," Yuki replied, before ignoring Sasuke and eating her ramen. Naruto had already toned him out by then.

"I'm asking Neji!" he replied indignantly.

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Jumping from rooftop to rooftop, Sasuke searched Konoha for Neji, the great Hyuuga genius. Perhaps he could shed some light on how to attract someone you like. Soon, he spotted Hinata, going to the hospital, probably for a day shift or something.

"Oi, Hinata!" Sasuke called. The girl looked. "Have you seen your cousin?" Hinata paused for a moment, her index finger resting on her chin.

"I believe he is with Lee and Tenten, training, in the training grounds near the Academy," she said. "Sorry, but, I have to go, bye!" she waved and jogged off to the hospital.

Sasuke, then bounded off to the training grounds.

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Michi yawned about three hours into the girls' workout. "Man, I am tired!" she exclaimed, stretching her arms high above her head. "Drinking does a terrible thing the morning after, eh?"

"Nope," Ren replied. "The sake last night didn't seem to affect me one bit. And Kyoko stayed sober the whole night! You just have a hang over. The best thing you can do is go home and rest." Michi smiled and nodded, before bounding away from the Mitaraki training grounds.

"I think she's just lazy," Kyoko muttered once she was sure Michi was gone. Ren giggled, but soon turned back to the wooden column she was pulverizing.

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Sasuke soon found the Hyuuga he was searching for, just about to leave the training grounds. _Score! _He was alone. _Double score!_ "Hey, Neji!" Sasuke called.

"Eh, what do you want?" the genius demanded, turning towards the Uchiha. "I need to meet Hiashi-and the whole fucking Hyuuga council-today, so make it quick!"

Sasuke sighed. "Look, you know how you and Michi have been going out for a while?" he asked. "Well, I want to…impress this one girl, 'kay? So…how did you get Michi to like you?"

Neji rolled his eyes. "Look, to start it off, who is the girl; that'll really gauge my response. Second, have you tried anything so far?"

Sasuke paused a moment to think. "Oh! I know! I gave her a small fish from the Festival!" Sasuke declared, proud of himself.

"Okay, so what did she say when you gave it to her? And what did you say?" Neji asked, trying to think up what Sasuke could do. "And, again, who is the girl?"

"The girl is…Kyoko," Sasuke whispered, hands in his pockets, his pride fading. "And she didn't say anything after I gave her the fish, because I just saw her sitting on a bench at the Festival, and I kinda left the fish for her on the seat, beside her. So she would find it. I don't think she even knew I was there."

"Well then, all I can say is, you're screwed!" Neji proclaimed. "And besides. I'm not exactly the one to ask about hooking girls anyway! I didn't _get_ Michi to like me, she already did! In fact, she made the first move!" and Neji trotted off, leaving Sasuke dumbfounded. Now he'd never get Kyoko!

Neji ran away from the training grounds, to the Hyuuga compound in its entire splendor. He rushed to his small apartment, showered, and was soon running to the main house of the compound, to a council meeting Hiashi was holding.

After a quick introduction to what the meeting was held for, a mere proposal to the branch house, Neji kneeled before Hiashi, his uncle, expecting bad news.

"Hyuuga Neji," Hiashi began. "You, as protector of the heiress to the Hyuuga clan, must guard her in ways, that no normal person would. Hyuuga Neji, you, are to wed Hinata, in three weeks."

**Dun-dun-duuuun! Oh no! Marry Hinata?!? Noooo! Oh, well, goodbye for now!**


	8. I'm hungry

**Torri/AngelGirl98743; _Dun-dun-dun_!**

**Me; Um, Torri, what are you doing?**

**Torri; Uh, duh! I am _dun-dun-dun_-ing! Because of the shocking news about Neji having to marry Hinata! Of all people! It's horrible!**

**Alex; But I thought you supported that pairing.**

**Torri; Look, I don't get to _dun-dun-dun_ very often, so don't ruin my _dun-dun-dun_ moment, kay?**

**Alex; Eh, whatever. Are you going to announce the chapter?**

**Torri; Depends, is this chapter the lemony one?**

**Alex; No.**

**Torri; Then no.**

**Naruto characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto, not me, tear, tear…**

Several days later, Ren received a phone call from a wailing Michi. "R-re-Ren!" she cried. Ren was only partially awake however. The Sedou kunoichi had been awoken at five in the morning with the phone call. "Ren! The stupid fucking clan! Those bastard Hyuugas! They took him! Took him away from me!"

"Okay, wait, what?" Ren asked, still groggy. "What happened?" Ren rubbed the sleepiness from her eyes. With her inner demon, she had large amounts of energy, so much, that she only had to sleep every two weeks. But somehow, it seemed something bad always happened when she slept.

"Those damn Hyuugas, have decided that Neji is to marry that bitch Hinata!" Michi exclaimed, so loudly that Ren had to hold the phone at arm's length from her ear to keep from going deaf. "Neji told me last niiiiggght!" and Michi collapsed into cries once more.

"What?" Ren exclaimed. She had heard of the Hyuugas doing such things, but marry Neji and Hinata? That was a little much. "That's terrible!"

"You bitch!" Michi screamed. "Don't 'that's terrible' me now! Your pity isn't going to change those inbred bastard Main House's mind!" Ren inwardly rolled her eyes. Now Michi was calling the Hyuugas inbred bastards. "I can't deal with this!" and the call ended. Ren took the phone away from her ear, and looked at it.

Michi had gone from crying to her for help, to calling her a bitch, to deeming the Hyuugas inbred bastards. Such mood swings had to be unnatural, hadn't they?

Ren took another look at the phone, and dialed Kyoko's number. As the call tone droned, she looked at the clock. It read 5:37 AM. She probably wasn't even awake.

"Ren, if this is you," a groggy voice answered. "I am going to rip out your trachea and strangle you with it, once I am fully awake!"

"Did you get a call from Michi this morning?" Ren asked, pushing off her bed and walking into her kitchen.

"No," Kyoko replied, flatly. "Michi did not call me, anytime this morning. Why? Neji finally get her prego?"

"'Prego'?" Ren exclaimed, confused. "What are you talking about? Oh…no, she isn't pregnant, but is does have to do with Neji."

"Is he cheating on her?" Kyoko asked, her voice sounding somewhat excited. Ren, even over the phone, could hear her bed squeak as she sat up in her bed. "Oh please tell me its Ino! I always knew they would be great together!"

"No!" Ren cried. "Look, the Hyuuga Main house had arranged for Neji to marry Hinata, and he broke it to her last night. She called for me to console her, and when I tried, she called me a bitch."

"That it?" Kyoko asked, sounding bored once more. "Well, I guess more happened to me then. Sasuke asked me out yesterday."

"What???"

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Later in the day, Kyoko and Ren met up at Michi's place. It was really just a small corner of the Wasabi land. But it was in fact separate from the rest. Ren knocked on the door. "Hey, Michi," she called. "Open up. Its us, Ren and Kyoko."

"Hey, Ren, why did you just say 'Ren and Kyoko'?" Kyoko asked.

"Because both of us are here," Ren rolled her eyes.

"Why 'Ren and Kyoko', and not 'Kyoko and Ren'?" Kyoko asked. Okay, now it was getting annoying.

"Would you just shut it? Here, how's this; Hey, Michi! It's us! Kyoko and Ren!" happy, Kyoko?" Kyoko smiled and nodded. No one answered the door, however. But even from where Ren stood, she could hear Michi sobbing. "Jeez! How long is she going to be all mopey?"

"Eh, I guess there's no point in trying to reach her, so let's just wait until she opens u-" Kyoko looked to Ren to see why she stopped. The sight of a sudden, dark figure now captivated Ren's attention. It was Gaara. He had a sinister look in his eye. Ren was frozen. Even Kyoko was still, except for a gasp she muttered just after realizing he was there.

Then his stomach grumbled. To say the least, it was loud. Gaara sweatdropped. Kyoko rolled her eyes. Ren giggled. "I'm hungry," he muttered.

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Well, it was in fact a very surprising day for everyone. Michi found out the love of her life is marrying someone else, Kyoko is on a date with Sasuke, and Ren now had the great Kazekage watching TV in her living room while she made food for him.

"So, Gaara, what do you want?" she called from the kitchen. He shrugged.

"I don't know, I don't really care. I don't have a favorite food or anything. Normally, Temari just makes something, and I eat it, even if it tastes like crap, which it normally does," he explained, as if it was simple. Ren rolled her eyes and got out a cup of instant ramen.

While it was heating up, she went into the living room with Gaara and sat down on the couch next to him. It was one of the few times he didn't have his gourd, which he had left leaning against the wall. Because the couch was quite small, Ren's shoulder often brushed Gaara's, and when it did, he would look at her, as if she did it on purpose.

Ren had no idea what they were watching. Gaara kept flipping the channel. Ren was getting annoyed. "Would you stop that! You're going to wear out the buttons on my remote!" Ren exclaimed. Gaara stared at her for a minute. The look in his eyes looked dangerous. Ren shrunk back from him. His hand touched her cheek and pulled her closer to his face, kissing her gently, then deepening it. In the background, Ren heard the microwave go off, but she didn't move, besides her hand going to Gaara's neck.

When they finally broke for air, and Gaara could hold his breath for a long time, Ren now rested with her head just below Gaara's chin. "You're hair is in my face," Gaara stated. Ren sweatdropped.

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Someone, Sasuke wasn't sure who, but someone, had suggested for him to take Kyoko to Ichiruka's. bad idea. Sasuke didn't like ramen. Kyoko didn't like it either. But Sasuke thought Kyoko liked ramen, and Kyoko thought Sasuke liked ramen, so they stuck around just to be courteous.

Every five minutes, Sasuke or Kyoko would try to start a conversation, but it always failed. The two were such shells, that neither of them wanted to be the first to speak.

So, to sum up a very long and boring date, it sucked.

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"Honey?" came a voice, after a quick knock on the door. Michi wiped her eyes and opened it to see her mother standing in the doorway. "Please stop moping around. You're normally the joy of the clan. Anyway, you have to think of others beside yourself. Like your clan. The council believes it's time that you were married. It has been decided you are to marry, are still carrying that ugly thing around?!?" her mother now pointed angrily at a small stuffed giraffe Michi carried with her.

"Well, Neji was fine with it!" and Michi slammed the door in her mother's stunned face.


End file.
